1. Wisconsin – Nothing has changed in Madison throughout the offseason, which means the Badgers are in position to once again win the West and potentially run the table in the regular season. With one of the best offensive lines in the country and Jonathan Taylor in the backfield, the Badgers will be tough to beat, but they have tough road tests against Michigan and Penn State, as well as a trip to Iowa. Lynne Sladky, AP

2. Ohio State – While the talent is almost never lacking in Columbus, trying to predict how an offseason of turmoil surrounding coach Urban Meyer will affect things on the field is difficult. Meyer won’t be on the sidelines for the first three games, including a matchup with No. 16 TCU while the Buckeyes will also be breaking in a new QB. Even so, expect Ohio State to have a significant say in which team wins the East. Jay LaPrete, AP

3. Michigan State – The Spartans lost only three starters from last season’s team that won 10 games and have the benefit of playing Ohio State and Michigan at home. A trip to Penn State looms large, as does a late season journey to Nebraska. If QB Brian Lewerke continues to progress and takes advantage of a host of weapons, the offense could near the level of the MSU defense, which ranked seventh in the nation in 2017 and second against the run. Al Goldis, AP

4. Penn State – The Nittany Lions have QB Trace McSorley, one of the most dynamic playmakers in the country. He is on most preseason short lists to win the Heisman Trophy. However, there are losses, including a big one in the backfield as Saquon Barkley is off to the NFL. Some questions on defense exist, as well, for coach James Franklin, though the Nittany Lions have the benefit of getting Ohio State, Michigan State and Wisconsin at home. Rick Scuteri, AP

5. Michigan – Optimism is never lacking in Ann Arbor, and this season there’s good reason for it with the arrival of quarterback Shea Patterson. The Ole Miss transfer was named the starter last week and he’ll be looking to add a spark to an offense that has lacked much consistency. The offensive line will be the biggest question mark for the Wolverines, but with one of the top defenses in the country, expect Jim Harbaugh’s team to make a push for its first trip to the conference title game. Kurt Steiss, AP

6. Iowa – With QB Nate Stanley set to make a significant jump this season, the Hawkeyes hope to take advantage of avoiding three of the top four teams in the East – they head to Penn State in late October – and pushing Wisconsin for the West title. They host the Badgers in the Big Ten opener, and if the Hawkeyes can find a way to replace all three of its starting linebackers from a season ago, they could have a shot at the early upset. John Peterson, AP

7. Northwestern – The Wildcats have won 10 games in two of the last three seasons and will now look to do so in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history. With a healthy Clayton Thorson back at quarterback, the Wildcats hope to overcome the loss of RB Justin Jackson as well as replacing several starters on defense. AP

8. Nebraska – There is plenty of excitement surrounding the arrival of coach Scott Frost, the former national championship winning QB for the Cornhuskers. Frost has proven he can win after leading UCF to an unbeaten season in 2017, but getting things turned around in Lincoln won’t be simple. They’ll try and do so this year with a true freshman starting at quarterback while playing a schedule that includes road games against Michigan, Wisconsin, Northwestern and Ohio State. Nati Harnik, AP

9. Purdue – The Boilermakers will have a chance to quickly prove that last season was just the beginning of better things under coach Jeff Brohm as they open things at home against Northwestern. An early conference win could build some momentum for a team hoping to get back to a bowl game and slowly become a team that can push Wisconsin and compete for the Big Ten West. Andy Manis, AP

10. Indiana – The Hoosiers’ quarterback battle ended with Peyton Ramsey hanging on to the starting job for the opener, but there’s no guarantee it stays that way all season. What makes things tougher for the Hoosiers is the suspension of running back Morgan Ellison, not to mention the fact Indiana happens to play in arguably the toughest division in college football. That said, the Hoosiers expect coach Tom Allen to get them back to a bowl game. Patrick Semansky, AP

11. Minnesota – P.J. Fleck enters his second year leading the Gophers and will do so with freshman walk-on as his starting quarterback. Zack Annexstad won the job during preseason camp as Minnesota looks to get back to a bowl game after ending a five-year run last season. The Gophers have the benefit of avoiding most of the big teams from the East, facing only Ohio State on the road in mid-October. Elizabeth Flores, AP

12. Maryland – The talent is there for the Terrapins to make some noise in the East, but with the status of coach DJ Durkin still up in the air in the fallout of the death of Jordan McNair, it’s hard to gauge how the Terps will fare this season. Opening the season at home against Texas will be a good barometer, though road games against Michigan and Ohio State along with visits from Penn State and Michigan State will be the true tests. Annie Rice, AP

13. Rutgers – The Scarlet Knights and coach Chris Ash are hoping this is the season things start to turn around in the Big Ten East, but they’ll enter 2018 with a true freshman at quarterback. Artur Sitkowski won the job and will be thrown into the fire in Week 2 when the Scarlet Knights head to Columbus to take on Ohio State. Road games against Wisconsin and Michigan State come late in the season for a team trying to get back to a bowl game for the first time since 2014. Julio Cortez, AP

14. Illinois – The Fighting Illini hope fifth-year grad transfer A.J. Bush breathes some life into an offense that was among the least potent in the Big Ten last season. The schedule at least appears to allow some growth as Illinois avoids Michigan State, Ohio State and Michigan from the East and plays Penn State at home. A trip to Wisconsin in late October will give an indication of how much progress is being made. Stephen Haas, AP

When Utah State hit the road to take on Wisconsin in last season’s opener, things didn’t go well.

After just one play — a snap over the quarterback’s head — it was clear the Aggies were in for a long day at Camp Randall Stadium.

With a similar trip to Spartan Stadium to open the 2018 season against No. 11 Michigan State on Friday, the Aggies are feeling better about their chances against another of the Big Ten’s top teams.

“It’s easy to draw the comparison because it’s on the road, Big Ten, Wisconsin and Michigan State are gonna compete for the Big Ten championship and a playoff berth and that’s probably the case again this year,” Utah State coach Matt Wells said. “The difference with us is we don’t have near as many first-year starters going into this game as we did last year.

“We’ve got more experienced players. Now, does that lead to better play and more points and all that stuff? Obviously, that remains to be seen, but there’s not near as much inexperience going into the game as we were last year.”

This season, the Aggies return 18 starters, just one less than Michigan State. And that, like with the Spartans, has the confidence building for a team that won six games last season and played in a bowl game for the sixth time in seven years.

And even though last season’s trip to Madison, Wis., ended poorly, the Aggies led 10-0 before things fell apart. Having that experience along with the number of returning players has them feeling like they can compete.

“They obviously have got a lot of returning people as we do,” Utah State senior safety Gaje Ferguson said. “I expect them to be good at what they do. I expect them to be a disciplined, sound football team.

“I think their quarterback (Brian Lewerke) is a good player. He can make a lot of plays on his feet and throwing. They’ve got a good running back, a couple good receivers coming back. It will be a competitive game, a lot of talent on the field and I expect them to be a disciplined group.”

Ferguson and the defense will have their hands full after ranking seventh in total defense last season in the Mountain West, as well as ninth in rushing defense by allowing 217.2 yards a game.

They’ll be tasked with slowing down senior running back LJ Scott and a physical offensive line, but they’ll do that feeling like they can at least match up with Lewerke and his top receivers — Felton Davis, Darrell Stewart and Cody White.

“We have a lot of receivers that are that are similar,” Ferguson said. “We’ve got some big bodies but also some very fast guys that emulate or are similar to what they have on their receiving corps. So we’ve seen that all camp, been competing against it all camp and that prepares us for what we’re gonna see, what we’re gonna be faced with against at Michigan State. So I feel very comfortable with that, and very confident in our guys in the secondary to handle that. It’s nothing we haven’t seen.”

What Wells sees as the biggest challenge is running the ball against the Spartans, who he said is “one of the best teams in the country.”

Wells said he believes that even though Michigan State has a talented secondary, it’s up front where the Spartans are toughest after they ranked second in the nation last season against the run.

“Big, strong, physical,” Wells said. “Hopefully the pace (of our offense) can wear them out a little bit, get them tired. There’s no secret we’re gonna play with pace on offense. But to see where they rank coming out of last year against the teams they did it against I think is pretty impressive. They’re deep, they’re talented. As I said, it will be the best we see all year.”